Thousands protest for a fourth consecutive day in Iran on eve of US sanctions

This week’s protests are among the largest to hit Iran since a wave of unrest erupted across more than 80 cities in December and January also over the country’s economic woes.  At least 25 people were killed during that time and thousands were arrested.

Protests and strikes re-ignited in June when the Rial took a major hit after President Trump walked out of a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and ordered his administration to reimpose “maximum“ sanctions by 6 August.  Trump administration officials at the time warned they were pushing US allies to cut oil imports from Iran to zero by November.  

Iran’s oil sales could drop from 2.4 million barrels per day to as low as 700,000 by the end of the year, according to Facts Global Energy analysis firm.

On Friday Javad Zarif, Iran’s foreign minister said China, which heavily relies on Iranian crude, was working to try to restart the nuclear agreement. He said China was “pivotal” to salvaging the pact.

But amid the increasing pressure on the economy, last week the Rial hit a record low on the black-market with the Iranian currency trading at a rate of around 120,000 to the dollar.

Ghasseminejad said with fresh sanctions it would likely sink to as low as 200,000 to the dollar meaning further unrest was certain and would likely turn political.  

Protesters have already begun chanting against the country’s religious and political leadership as well as against Iran’s costly interventions in conflicts in Yemen, Syria and the Palestinian Territories.

In videos purportedly taken in the town of Gohardasht, a suburb of Karaj, dozens of demonstrators can be seen in the streets chanting “death to the dictator” against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali] Khamenei.

In other videos reportedly shot in Tehran, the capital, people were filmed shouting  “Get lost you Mullahs”.  Some even called for the return of Iran’s king, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who was deposed in the Islamic revolution of 1979. 

Maryam Rajavi, head of the controversial opposition group the National Council of Resistance, claimed on Friday that police had used tear gas, rubber bullets, and blank cartridges in an attempt to quell “an uprising”. 

In a statement shared with The Independent the exiled leader said that a number of protesters had also been wounded but gave no further details. 

Article Appeared @https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/iran-protests-currency-unemployment-us-sanctions-a8476681.html

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